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The cows might have grown used to his scent and did not resist.

Local Brown Cattle did not produce much milk to begin with. It should have been the low-lactation period now, and each cow produced less than ten kilograms of milk, far less than the dairy cows that could easily yield thirty or forty kilograms.

However, milk from Local Brown Cattle was richer, sweeter, and more fragrant, with higher levels of various nutrients. Fresh milk smelled somewhat like concentrated milk, carrying the distinctive aroma of dairy products and boasting superior quality.

Milk was an important food source for local herders. They did not pursue yield alone and had high standards for quality as well, which had always been an important criterion for evaluating local dairy cattle.

Just as Shi Wen lowered his head and focused on milking, he heard a rustling sound outside.

When he turned to look, he saw a long black nose poking through the crack in the door, nudging back and forth as though trying to force it open.

"An Wa! No messing around!" Shi Wen recognized the dog outside by its scent and called out a warning.

The dog's nose immediately slipped back out of sight.

Shi Wen turned back and continued milking.

Before long, the rustling started again.

Shi Wen held back for a moment, then took off his gloves and stood up. He strode to the door, reached it in a few steps, and yanked it open.

An Wa and Le Wa were both sticking their butts out as they desperately squeezed their way in. Caught off guard when Shi Wen pulled the door open, they nearly tumbled inside, and Shi Wen had to catch them with his leg.

Seeing that he had been exposed, An Wa immediately rolled onto his back, curled up his front paws, exposed his soft belly, and whimpered coquettishly at Shi Wen.

Le Wa was a beat slower. He lay down as well, curled up his front paws, tilted his head at Shi Wen, and barked, "Woof!"

Black Kid, on the other hand, lay steadily off to the side, sleeping and ignoring the two of them.

Shi Wen did not know whether to laugh or be angry. "You two aren't dogs. You're greedy cats, aren't you?"

Le Wa barked, "Woof!"

Shi Wen said, "Pouting won't work either. The cow is still sick, so where would I get milk for you? Besides, puppies aren't supposed to drink much milk anyway. Give it a rest."

An Wa whimpered, "Eee..."

Hard-heartedly, Shi Wen shut all three dogs outside, locked the door, and continued milking.

An Wa pawed at the door for a while. When he truly could not get it open, he had no choice but to stop.

Milking was rather dull. As he milked and milked, Shi Wen felt his hand starting to cramp.

It seemed he really needed to get an electric milking machine soon.

After Shi Wen finished milking, he arranged fresh, tender grass for the sick cow. He had the dogs drive the other healthy cattle and sheep out to graze, while he drove the manure scraper to clean the livestock shed.

He had also bought the manure scraper after his loan had come through recently. It cost over twenty thousand yuan, not exactly cheap, but it greatly reduced the time he spent cleaning.

With such a large livestock shed, he could clean the whole place in just over ten minutes with the manure scraper, while spraying disinfectant at the same time.

The scraped manure and urine could be hauled straight to the fermentation pit and dumped with a single button. It was especially convenient.

That morning, the construction crew Shi Wen had hired arrived at the ranch.

He wanted to build another livestock shed at the northeast corner of the forage building complex. He had submitted the application long ago, but the construction permit had only been approved in the past few days.

As the number of livestock he raised continued to grow, the existing shed would gradually become insufficient. Expansion was inevitable.

Once the new shed was built, it could be used to quarantine and house new livestock. Otherwise, putting them in the warehouse every time really was not ideal.

The construction crew had been recommended by Zhang Deyuan. They were an old local crew with a consistently good reputation and reasonable rates.

For the new livestock shed, the crew provided both labor and materials, charging three hundred and eighty yuan per square meter. The price included floor tiles, wall tiles, fencing, roofing, and more; only the windows, plumbing, and electricity had to be paid for separately by Shi Wen.

Now that Shi Wen had money on hand, he did not want to spend too much effort on such matters. He signed a contract with the crew directly and let them handle it.

The construction crew was highly efficient. In just one month, they built a large five-hundred-square-meter livestock shed on Shi Wen's ranch.

During that time, Shi Wen separately hired plumbers and electricians to connect the utilities, and the windows were installed as well.

The new livestock shed was more scientifically designed, with better lighting, ventilation, insulation, and so on.

Shi Wen planned to house the cattle and sheep separately, putting the cattle here and leaving the sheep in the old livestock shed.

As soon as the new shed was completed, Shi Wen moved the five dairy cows that had been kept in the warehouse over.

Perhaps Shi Wen's animal-rearing ability had improved, or perhaps the dairy cows had a good foundation, but all five survived this time. They were all alive and in quite good condition.

If he resold them, he could easily get twenty thousand yuan for each dairy cow. Compared with what he had paid, he could make more than eighty thousand yuan in one go.

However, he was not short on money now and had no intention of making that quick profit.

Shi Wen invited Skewell over again to conduct a special examination on the five recovered dairy cows.

The moment he confirmed that they had fully recovered, Shi Wen could not help taking over the electric milking machine and milking three large buckets of milk.

This was the first batch of milk produced on his ranch.

Perhaps because he had been feeding them well lately, the milk had an enchanting pale yellow tint and looked delicious at a glance.

Shi Wen carried the milk into the kitchen, carefully poured it into a clean soup pot, and slowly brought it to a boil over low heat.

As he heated the milk, a thick layer of milk skin quickly formed on top. Its rich fragrance spread out, drifting everywhere with the steam.

At some point, the dogs caught wind of the commotion and all sat obediently outside the kitchen.

This time, even Black Kid could not resist.

They sat in a row, barking from time to time, with anxious whimpers mixed in.

The whimpering clearly came from that clingy little brat An Wa. He even pawed at Shi Wen's door, urging him to hurry up.

Shi Wen stirred the milk as it cooked. Listening to the sounds outside, his face was full of smiles.

The milk finally came to a boil, and Shi Wen ladled out four bowls.